It is a cold rainy evening here in Maine. Weather like this makes me want to curl up at home with a good book, a glass of wine, and comfort food. Tonight I was craving this amazing macaroni and cheese I have made before with capers. It is macaroni and cheese all grown up, with earthy mushrooms and salty capers and a mixture of cheddar and a hard sheep's milk cheese I discovered at my local Italian market. I will make it again sometime so that I can share the recipe with you. And by recipe, I mean that I will write down what I put in it that day. I rarely actually cook from a recipe. And when I post my recipes, I typically have only made them once or twice. I would like to think that eventually readers will get a feel for what they like and do not like in the way of ingredients, spices, and flavors so that they can adjust any recipe I post to their own personal tastes.
So, back to my craving (which is usually what drives my dinners). I was craving macaroni and cheese, but I decided to try something a little healthier. I hope what I created is, but I honestly have not estimated the nutritional value of it. In the end, I ruled out the cheese. Wandering into the grocery store, I was deciding what would complement the capers. I thought I would try my hand at making a lemony sauce, Lemons are like sunshine for your palate and I definitely needed some sun today. So, I grabbed some lemons. The garlic was right next to them, so I picked up a head. I made my way to the pastas and decided on what looked like a more rustic pasta (rustichella d'abruzzo's orecchiette del prete). When I got home, I started to pull the capers out of the refrigerator and noticed a package of baby portabella mushrooms I purchased a week ago and grabbed those too. In the end, I ended up with a tart, flavorful, and slightly spicy pasta that definitely satisfied me. I hope you enjoy it just as much.
Lemon Caper Pasta
water
250 g pasta of your choice (I used orecchiette del prete)
4 tbsp olive oil
6 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed, and roughly chopped
10 oz baby portabella mushrooms, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
pinch of salt
1 tsp chicken Better than Bouillon
juice of 2 lemons
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 - 1 tsp sugar (to your taste, to cut the tartness of the lemon)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp Tabasco pepper sauce
4 tbsp capers
baby spinach
Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, add the pasta and cook as directed on the package.
While that is cooking, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat.
Add the garlic and saute until fragrant and just starting to brown.
Add the mushrooms and pinch of salt, stir and let cook for about a minute.
Carefully ladle out about a 1/2 cup of water from the boiling pasta and pour over the mushrooms.
Add the bouillon and lemon juice and stir.
Put the cornstarch in a measuring cup and add a few teaspoons of the liquid in the skillet. Stir until smooth and then slowly pour into the skillet and stir.
Add the sugar, salt, pepper, Tabasco sauce, and capers and simmer for a couple minutes. If this is done before the pasta, just turn it off and let it sit while the pasta finishes.
When the pasta is done cooking, drain it well and then pour it into the skillet. Stir well.
To serve, put about 1 cup of baby spinach in a bowl and then ladle your desired amount of pasta over it. It will wilt the spinach a bit while allowing it to keep some texture.
Showing posts with label spinach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spinach. Show all posts
Friday, March 16, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Open-Faced Vegetable Melt
After eating shepherd's pie for lunch* I wanted something lighter for dinner. I also have been browsing pinterest too often and there is an oddly high number of grilled cheese sandwich photos. Talk about getting a craving! I wanted to make this staple comfort food healthier with lots of vegetables, thus the Open-Faced Vegetable Melt was born. Make and enjoy!
Open-Faced Vegetable Melt
1 english muffin
4 tbsp edamame hummus
2 thick slices tomato
6 slices avocado
1/3 c baby spinach
2 slices English Cheddar with Caramelized Onions (or another sharp cheese that you like)
Turn the oven to broil.
While the oven is warming up, cut the English muffin in half and place on a baking sheet.
Spread on the edamame hummus, then top each half with half of the the tomato, avocado, spinach, and cheese.
Slide pan under the broiler and, leaving the door ajar, broil until the cheese melts and starts to brown just a little bit.
Remove from the oven and serve.
*I will try to post the recipe for that in the future, I was replacing the Worcestershire sauce with substitutes, which took some "dash of this, pinch of that, drizzle of this" and ended up with me not know how much of anything I ended up putting in it.
Open-Faced Vegetable Melt
1 english muffin
4 tbsp edamame hummus
2 thick slices tomato
6 slices avocado
1/3 c baby spinach
2 slices English Cheddar with Caramelized Onions (or another sharp cheese that you like)
Turn the oven to broil.
While the oven is warming up, cut the English muffin in half and place on a baking sheet.
Spread on the edamame hummus, then top each half with half of the the tomato, avocado, spinach, and cheese.
Slide pan under the broiler and, leaving the door ajar, broil until the cheese melts and starts to brown just a little bit.
Remove from the oven and serve.
*I will try to post the recipe for that in the future, I was replacing the Worcestershire sauce with substitutes, which took some "dash of this, pinch of that, drizzle of this" and ended up with me not know how much of anything I ended up putting in it.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Bonus Day
I have tomorrow off, so I thought I would post two things today (ooo). Last night I had breakfast for dinner, but without any syrup requiring breads (I don't have any syrup at the moment, bummer). Instead I made an omelet and a potato-kale scramble. Do you call it a scramble if it doesn't include eggs? Hmm... Anyways, it was delicious and accomplished 2 goals: finish the last of the spinach from the share the week before last and knock down one bag of kale from last week's share. I didn't have any bread for toast (should probably go shopping), but I found a large boiled Yukon Gold potato in my refrigerator. Ah leftovers, how you save the day more often than not.
Spinach and Cheddar Omelet with Potato-Kale Scramble
2 tsp butter, divided
3 eggs
3 tbsp green onion, sliced thin
1/2 c spinach, washed and chopped
1 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1/2 c cubed cooked potato (cold)
3 c kale, washed and torn into pieces
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
In a pan over medium heat, melt 1 tsp butter.
In a bowl, beat eggs well.
Mix green onion and a pinch each of salt and pepper into the eggs.
Spread butter in pan evenly, then pour in eggs.
Once the eggs are well set, but still slightly wet on the top, use a spatula to flip.
Sprinkle spinach and cheese on one half of the omelet, then turn other half over to cover. Remove to a plate and cover to keep warm.
Place 1 tsp butter in the same pan and add garlic.
Once garlic is fragrant, add potato and kale.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then stir while cooking (using spatula to scrape any browned potato from the bottom of the pan).
Once potato is hot and kale is wilted, transfer to plate and eat while warm.
I think I also mentioned that I was going to make some coleslaw with all the cabbage I had left from two weeks ago. I researched a variety of recipes in my old cookbooks. I find, when you're looking for something classic, the old cookbooks are always the best. Too many cookbooks today try to make things less fat (eat less) or time (I enjoy cooking, so I don't necessarily need all my meals done in 10 minutes) or are trying to reinvent recipes (which I have no problem with, I do that a lot, but again, looking for classic). Also, if I'm looking to experiment myself, I like to know how people typically make something and to think of variations all on my lonesome.
After digging around, I found that a "boiled dressing" was a classic for coleslaw. It's not actually boiled, but it is cooked in a pan and then allowed to cool before dressing the vegetables. I took ideas from a few different recipes and settled upon adding mustard seeds and celery seeds to the dressing. For the vegetables, I added shredded zucchini, kohlrabi, and carrots. I also met someone once who salted the vegetables and allowed them to weep before adding the dressing, so I also did that. After a few days, it's gotten a bit watery, but the first couple days it was delicious. Eaten with some cold cooked chicken, it was a nice summery meal.
Classic Coleslaw
6 c finely shredded cabbage (mixture of green and napa cabbages)
2 zucchini, shredded with a grater
1 kohlrabi bulb, peeled and then shredded with a grater
1 tsp salt, divided
1 tsp brown mustard seeds
1 tsp celery seeds
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp flour
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp butter
3/4 c half and half
1/4 c vinegar
1 c onion, sliced paper thin
2 c carrot, shredded with a grater
Place cabbage, zucchini, a kohlrabi in a salad spinner and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt and toss.
While vegetables are sitting, place other 1/2 tsp salt, mustard seeds, celery seeds, black pepper, cayenne pepper, sugar and flour in a sauce pan and whisk together.
Add egg yolks to seasonings and mix well with a whisk.
Slowly add half and half, whisking smooth.
Add butter and vinegar, then turn on heat to medium-low.
Stirring constantly, cook dressing until it starts to thicken.
Remove from heat, then pour into a Pyrex measuring cup and put in the refrigerator to cool.
When dressing is cool, rinse the vegetables with water and spin dry.
In a large mixing bowl, combine these vegetables with the onion and carrots. Stir well.
Pour dressing over the vegetables and mix well.
Place in the refrigerator and allow to sit for at least 2 hours before serving.
Spinach and Cheddar Omelet with Potato-Kale Scramble
2 tsp butter, divided
3 eggs
3 tbsp green onion, sliced thin
1/2 c spinach, washed and chopped
1 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1/2 c cubed cooked potato (cold)
3 c kale, washed and torn into pieces
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
In a pan over medium heat, melt 1 tsp butter.
In a bowl, beat eggs well.
Mix green onion and a pinch each of salt and pepper into the eggs.
Spread butter in pan evenly, then pour in eggs.
Once the eggs are well set, but still slightly wet on the top, use a spatula to flip.
Sprinkle spinach and cheese on one half of the omelet, then turn other half over to cover. Remove to a plate and cover to keep warm.
Place 1 tsp butter in the same pan and add garlic.
Once garlic is fragrant, add potato and kale.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then stir while cooking (using spatula to scrape any browned potato from the bottom of the pan).
Once potato is hot and kale is wilted, transfer to plate and eat while warm.
I think I also mentioned that I was going to make some coleslaw with all the cabbage I had left from two weeks ago. I researched a variety of recipes in my old cookbooks. I find, when you're looking for something classic, the old cookbooks are always the best. Too many cookbooks today try to make things less fat (eat less) or time (I enjoy cooking, so I don't necessarily need all my meals done in 10 minutes) or are trying to reinvent recipes (which I have no problem with, I do that a lot, but again, looking for classic). Also, if I'm looking to experiment myself, I like to know how people typically make something and to think of variations all on my lonesome.
After digging around, I found that a "boiled dressing" was a classic for coleslaw. It's not actually boiled, but it is cooked in a pan and then allowed to cool before dressing the vegetables. I took ideas from a few different recipes and settled upon adding mustard seeds and celery seeds to the dressing. For the vegetables, I added shredded zucchini, kohlrabi, and carrots. I also met someone once who salted the vegetables and allowed them to weep before adding the dressing, so I also did that. After a few days, it's gotten a bit watery, but the first couple days it was delicious. Eaten with some cold cooked chicken, it was a nice summery meal.
Classic Coleslaw
6 c finely shredded cabbage (mixture of green and napa cabbages)
2 zucchini, shredded with a grater
1 kohlrabi bulb, peeled and then shredded with a grater
1 tsp salt, divided
1 tsp brown mustard seeds
1 tsp celery seeds
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp flour
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp butter
3/4 c half and half
1/4 c vinegar
1 c onion, sliced paper thin
2 c carrot, shredded with a grater
Place cabbage, zucchini, a kohlrabi in a salad spinner and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt and toss.
While vegetables are sitting, place other 1/2 tsp salt, mustard seeds, celery seeds, black pepper, cayenne pepper, sugar and flour in a sauce pan and whisk together.
Add egg yolks to seasonings and mix well with a whisk.
Slowly add half and half, whisking smooth.
Add butter and vinegar, then turn on heat to medium-low.
Stirring constantly, cook dressing until it starts to thicken.
Remove from heat, then pour into a Pyrex measuring cup and put in the refrigerator to cool.
When dressing is cool, rinse the vegetables with water and spin dry.
In a large mixing bowl, combine these vegetables with the onion and carrots. Stir well.
Pour dressing over the vegetables and mix well.
Place in the refrigerator and allow to sit for at least 2 hours before serving.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Rosemary Chicken with Mashed Yams and Parsnips and Sauteed Spinach
This morning I'm headed to Bintliff's American Cafe with Kurt and Jen. I have tried most of Portland's brunch cafes, but not this one. I've heard great things about their food. We had tried to go once before, a while back, but it was weekend brunch rush hour and Jen was already hungry, so we decided to go to another restaurant that I frequent and had never experienced a wait at. Enter the "never" curse. We had to wait just as long at the second cafe and also got the table right by the door, so we had to keep our coats on. I seriously don't understand people who walk into a restaurant during the winter and hold the door open while having a conversation with the people behind them about whether they'll eat there or not. The waitress also wasn't very attentive. I have high hopes for Bintliff's, since we made a reservation this time!
Last night, I made another meal to continue my attempt at more vegetables. This time I pan cooked some chicken thighs with rosemary and garlic, mashed yams (for sweetness) and parsnips (to balance out the yams), and quickly sauteed some spinach with garlic in oil so that it was wilted but not soggy. I hate overcooked greens. The meal was very colorful, which is always so appetizing, and the flavors balanced I thought. (Though, I didn't realize my brother doesn't like squash and yams very much, so I should have increase the amount of parsnips to yams for his taste preference). The meal came together quickly, which was nice since Jen was hungry when they arrived and I hadn't started to cook yet. Oops. Kurt also told me that when he makes a quick sauteed vegetable after cooking meat, he'll just throw it into the meat pan (meat removed). It saves a pan and adds more flavor to the vegetables.
Rosemary Chicken with Mashed Yams and Parsnips and Sauteed Spinach
2 tbsp oil
6 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 tbsp rosemary
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 yams, peeled and diced
6 parsnips, peels and sliced
1 bunch spinach, washed well
Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.
Add smashed garlic cloves and rosemary and allow to cook for a minute.
Salt and pepper the chicken thighs on both sides and add to the pan.
Leave these to cook until you can see that it is cooked half way up and side facing down is thoroughly browned.
While first side of chicken is cooking, put the yams and parsnips in a pan and cover with water.
Bring yams and parsnips to a boil, then reduce heat and low boil until vegetables are tender.
When chicken is cooked half way up, turn over and allow to cook the rest of the way. Do not turn the chicken frequently, or the outside will overcook and the inside will take longer to come to temperature.
Yams and parsnips should be done before the chicken - drain and then mash.
Cover with a lid to keep warm.
When meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the largest chicken thigh reads 180 degrees, remove chicken from pan and place on a serving platter.
Add spinach to the meat pan and saute until just wilted.
Remove spinach from pan and put in a serving bowl.
Put mashed yams and parsnips in a serving bowl.
Serve hot.
Last night, I made another meal to continue my attempt at more vegetables. This time I pan cooked some chicken thighs with rosemary and garlic, mashed yams (for sweetness) and parsnips (to balance out the yams), and quickly sauteed some spinach with garlic in oil so that it was wilted but not soggy. I hate overcooked greens. The meal was very colorful, which is always so appetizing, and the flavors balanced I thought. (Though, I didn't realize my brother doesn't like squash and yams very much, so I should have increase the amount of parsnips to yams for his taste preference). The meal came together quickly, which was nice since Jen was hungry when they arrived and I hadn't started to cook yet. Oops. Kurt also told me that when he makes a quick sauteed vegetable after cooking meat, he'll just throw it into the meat pan (meat removed). It saves a pan and adds more flavor to the vegetables.
Rosemary Chicken with Mashed Yams and Parsnips and Sauteed Spinach
2 tbsp oil
6 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 tbsp rosemary
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 yams, peeled and diced
6 parsnips, peels and sliced
1 bunch spinach, washed well
Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.
Add smashed garlic cloves and rosemary and allow to cook for a minute.
Salt and pepper the chicken thighs on both sides and add to the pan.
Leave these to cook until you can see that it is cooked half way up and side facing down is thoroughly browned.
While first side of chicken is cooking, put the yams and parsnips in a pan and cover with water.
Bring yams and parsnips to a boil, then reduce heat and low boil until vegetables are tender.
When chicken is cooked half way up, turn over and allow to cook the rest of the way. Do not turn the chicken frequently, or the outside will overcook and the inside will take longer to come to temperature.
Yams and parsnips should be done before the chicken - drain and then mash.
Cover with a lid to keep warm.
When meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the largest chicken thigh reads 180 degrees, remove chicken from pan and place on a serving platter.
Add spinach to the meat pan and saute until just wilted.
Remove spinach from pan and put in a serving bowl.
Put mashed yams and parsnips in a serving bowl.
Serve hot.
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